​Showing a dog in conformationrefers to being judged on the visible details of a dog's structure, appearance and movement as defined by the breed standard for each breed. When a judge is evaluating a dog, the dog’s muscular development and overall appearance will be looked at and scored.

Canine fitness training can improve how a dog moves by making him more aware of his feet and improving the overall use of each limb. A dog that knows how to move and has the strength to move fluidly will show in the conformation ring with stronger attributes.

Benefits of canine fitness for both handler and dog:

Improved movement and length of stride

Improved posture, balance and shape

Improved musculature

Improved stability as the trunk becomes stronger

Increased power in the center of gravity

Improved performance during exercise and sports activities

Improves overall stability while decreases the chance of injury

Canine fitness training uses inflatable balance props, cavaletti poles, boxes, platforms and other things naturally found in the environment to improve a dog’s limb awareness, balance and over all strength.

It is important to understand how to build a proper fitness plan for your dog that provides a full body workout. This will teach efficient use of each limb, activate the core muscle group to assist in movement and maintain and/or build overall muscle while improving muscle tone, size and strength. All of these things will improve the dog’s appearance and movement.

Exercises that I use regularly for my conformation clients include:

Cavalettis (stride poles set in a straight line or in a curve only 1-2” off the ground) – improves length of stride and limb awareness.

Front and rear foot targeting to improve the dog’s stacked position and improve communication with the dog for other strength exercises

Side Stepping or Lateral movement to improve muscle tone and joint stability

Down Stands and Squats – to improve hind end strength

Push ups – to improve forelimb strength

Circles and figure eights around trees, cones or garbage cans – thoughtfully and at speed

A variety of stretches to improve flexibility and movement

Completing a circuit of exercises with your dog on a regular basis is fun and rewarding for both dog and handler. Dog’s LOVE participating in canine fitness. Your goal should be to complete a strength training circuit three to five days a week. Each fitness plan should take about 15-25 min. It is important to give your dog TWO active rest days per week. Active rest means that you are not doing any organized fitness training, but you are still taking your dog for walks. Rest doesn’t mean that you want your dog to be a couch potato. You want to make sure that your dog is moving during their active rest.

There are many exercises to choose from, but it is important to get advice from a qualified canine fitness coach. I personally have 14+ yrs experience teaching canine fitness. Although I am based in Portland, OR, I teach online classes and online one on one lessons. If you would like more information about my lessons or classes, please emails me at bobbie@pawsitive-performance.com. There are a variety of classes available online taught by very skilled fitness professionals. For the best instruction, search for classes or lessons offered by a Certified Canine Fitness Trainer, educated by the University of Tennessee, a veterinarian or rehabilitation professional who specializes in sports medicine.

​Program design is by far one of the hardest concepts for students to master. Being consistent with a dog’s workouts is also hard for many handlers to do. Below are a few principles that will help you to identify what needs to be part of your strength and skill training program. The below information will also help you understand the importance of designing a balanced program, of being consistent with your dog’s workouts and taking small breaks but never taking long breaks from fitness.

Many of my students come into their fitness appointment and say “I didn’t do my homework”. I am not one of those instructors that shames my students when this happens but it does suggests that their canine athlete has not been consistently performing fitness exercises for several weeks. This puts their canine athlete at a disadvantage due to a decrease in strength, flexibility and endurance. As a fitness coach that is trained to look at each dog individually, I must find ways to challenge the dog without over stressing the muscles, joints and tissues while also satisfying the customer. It is my job to decipher if the homework wasn’t done due to time or schedule, focus of the handler or training challenges with the dog so that I can design a doable fitness plan to help the dog and handler be successful while also working toward their specific training goals.

Working toward each canine athlete’s goals can be very complex. Afterall, the handler has to be motivated to train each exercise and build time into their schedule to complete multiple exercise as part of a fitness and skill training program.

Let’s talk about principles. In the human world there are all these different principles designed to make strength training more efficient for human athletes depending on their goals. I would like to focus on the three listed below when working with our canine athletes.

The Balance principle

The Overload Principle

The Principle of Reversibility

The Balance PrincipleThis principle suggests that the right combination of diet, training activities and healthy lifestyle all play apart in having an optimal functioning body and mind. The human body thrives when in balanced or in homeostasis. Over training or extreme efforts can keep the body out of balance which is detrimental to ideal performance. For physiological and psychological reasons athlete's need breaks from the intensity of training and competition. Fitness programs should allow athletes to overload and recover over time.

Design exercise for the dog’s level of fitness (you can cause harm by making the exercise too hard)

Take short breaks

Be active and eat the right foods

The Overload Principle In order to gain strength and improve performance, the muscles, ligaments and tendons need to adapt to the stress of exercise. The exercise and repetition chosen needs to push the tissue beyond what is normal. If the tissue is not properly overloaded, then no progress will be seen. No progress means, no improvement in strength, range of motion or performance.

Tips for success with the Overload Principle

Increase loads gradually (make the exercise more challenging over time)

Do not challenge muscles to failure

Be sure to give muscle enough time to recover

Plan your training

Track your progress

Cross-training to allow some muscles more recovery time

Make a plan and adjust your training around your schedule

Always train toward a goal and for specific skills

The Principle of ReversibilityDetraining occurs within a short period of time after an athlete stops training. Decreased performance can be seen as quickly as two weeks or sooner. This principle is simply put - “If you don’t use it, you lose it”. Detraining causes strength, flexibility and endurance to be lost but the body’s coordination to execute a sport skill or movement remains. Precise timing may be a bit rusty and need practice to resume a previously mastered skill.

Tips to avoid the Principle of Reversibility

Avoid long breaks in your training regime

Design balanced fitness programs that engage the whole body

Participate in regular cross-training activities

What this all suggests is that your canine athlete needs a balanced fitness plan designed that includes cross training activities, is training toward a goal, is consistent (no large breaks) and also identifies nutritional needs and other healthy activities as part of your fitness plan. Seek help from a qualified fitness trainer or educate yourself on designing a balanced plan for your dog.

Lets say you got paid $10 for mowing the neighbors lawn and then the next THREE times you mowed the lawn, you only got paid $1. Would this inspire you to continue to mow the lawn? If this happened to me, I would simply find a better paying job with some consistency to the pay.

My take on Jackpots (giving a handful of treats instead of one treat after a click when shaping a behavior) Many people click and jackpot their dog simply because they get excited that their dog is starting to understand what they are training. However, I think it is important to look at the information you are giving the dog. Does the dog know that the jackpotted behavior was better than any other behavior or movement? What if the very next repetition the dog offered was same behavior that got clicked and jackpotted but this time was only given one treat after a click? I suspect that this will decrease enthusiasm to continue the training session.

IMO, When a trainer gets excited and jackpots "after a click" and the behavior itself is still in the process of being trained (for instance you are at rep 3 of 5), it DEVALUES the 1 treat per click option. This inspires you to start giving many treats per click and then it becomes a handful and where does it end?

A handful of treats at the END of a sessionAfter I am finished with the last click/treat for the training session, and I have given that last treat, I often toss a handful of treats on the floor or in a snuffle mat to allow the dog to scent and scavenge. This is done as a reward for an entire training session, NOT as a reward for the dog's brilliance of one behavior during a training session.

When you realize that you have a training challenge in front of you, do you try to solve it right then or do you stop and formulate a plan? As a dog trainer I can admit that I have often reacted in the moment without thinking through the steps to a solid solution. Reacting in the moment can create poor communication between you and your dog.

I can come up with a million excuses why I have reacted in certain situations but honestly, my reactions were due to poor training habits. Now when I have a training challenge, I do the following:

Stop, think and write down the challenge

Find the small details about the training challenge that I can focus on and put in order of importance

Make a list of steps to work toward my goal

Develop my plan based on those steps

OK so my most recent problem is that I have a puppy that gets over aroused specifically when Drama is loose in the yard. My first thoughts were “No way do I want to spend the Summer not being able to have all my dogs in the yard at once”. So, on went my thinking cap to come up with a solution.

Bravo is now 5.5 mo old and in need of learning impulse control and how to control his over arousal. Apparently, Drama is VERY exciting. Bravo is good outside with all the other dogs but when Drama is outside running around, Bravo loses his mind completely (barking, screaming, running at Drama, nipping Drama etc).

These were my immediate concerns:

Drama might eat Bravo – Drama is not yet a Bravo fan

Bravo throws himself at Drama and nips a bit – again Drama might eat him

Bravo did not respond to cues when off leash in the yard with Drama

Bravo did not respond to cues even when put on leash – instead he was at the end of the leash screaming

Here is my plan (loosely described). Note that at any time that Bravo was unsuccessful we stopped, analyzed and changed things up or went back to the previous step.

Step #1 Bravo sits and waits for a release word before coming out of a crate or being let out any door.

Step #2Bravo stays on the deck until he can respond to cues when arousal levels are high (ie, Drama is outside because yeh, that is all it takes). This will starts with low arousal situations, such as when Drama is NOT outside.

Step #3Bravo is in the yard but in a crate inside the doorway of my shed (after passing Step #2). Bravo is rewarded for calm behavior – if he is unable to offer calm behavior, go back to Step #2.

Step #4 Bravo gets out of the crate, but on leash and is rewarded for responding to cues and checking in with me with Drama at a distance and not moving – if unable to respond to cues and check in, go back to Step #2.

Step #5Bravo responds to cues while on leash in the yard walking by the other dogs (other dogs are free to move) – if unable to offer respond to cues, then we move further away from the action and/or go back to Step #4.

Step #6While on leash or dragging the leash, Bravo is able to respond to cues while Drama is moving - if unable to respond to cues, go back to Step #5.

Step #7Bravo gets of leash in the yard.

Off leash with Jack, Riley and Kaos – when successfully checking in and responding to cues then,

Off leash with Drama – no moving - when successfully checking in and responding to cues then,

Off leash with Drama moving,

If at any time Bravo is unsuccessful, go back one bullet point or step

The one thing I have really learned over the years is to analyze a training challenge, come up with a plan and implement it. Always be willing to toss the plan out the window if it doesn’t work or change the plan as necessary. Having a plan is so much better than reacting in the moment without a knowing the step by step process to fix the training challenge.

Success in the past few days:

Bravo responds to cue when loose in the yard

Bravo has earned very brief times in the yard when Drama is loose

Bravo has learned to recall away from Drama when loose in the yard

Drama has learned to down stay when asked and ignores Bravo

We will keep working on this and set the stage for other situations of over arousal. I believe rewarding small steps towards a goal communicates what you want, allows for a high rate of reinforcement at each step and sets a good foundation to build on.

I hope this blog post inspires you to “stop, think, write things down, have a plan and train toward a goal”.

Recently I have found myself having many conversations with my clients about “nap time”. I hear things like:

my pup has no attention span

my pup doesn’t want to train

my pup won’t settle

my pup is always offering behavior

my pup always wants my attention

my pup is more reactive

my pup is a biting machine

my pup is guarding things

Taking a nap sets your pup up for success and can improve all the things listed above with proper rest and training. Dog owners sometimes take 2-4 classes each week for several different performance sports and/or activities. I can only imagine the amount of time needed to complete the homework necessary to be successful in that many classes and activities. This much training can create pups that are over- weight from all the treats given, over tired from lack of sleep and have an inability to perform reliably.

“Bravo” my 5 month old MAS pup, naps for 2 hrs in the morning and 2 hrs in the afternoon. Some of the signs that he may be ready for a nap include:

he is generally not settled,

a bit nippy,

more barky than usual,

cranky toward the adult dogs in the house,

pacing around the room,

ringing the bell to go outside even when he doesn’t need to go potty,

generally naughty,

I think most folks see the signs listed above and feel that their pup is “bored” and needs more activity. When you add more activity without proper rest, you can get an over stimulated, over trained and over aroused pup that won’t settle.

I strongly believe that nap time can have a positive effect on training, relationship building and over all behavior at any age. Imagine how much more focused and fun your pup will be after a nap.

Naps should be in a quiet placeNap time should be uninterrupted and in a quiet environment. Just sleeping on the floor or on a dog bed is not the same as being able to “shut off the world”. Imagine you are napping on the couch with a movie on, you might doze in and out, hear parts of the movie and your house mates moving about but if you were to nap in your room with the door closed, your quality of sleep will improve with less noise and activity around you. It is the same for our pups. I generally recommend putting your pup in a room alone or in a covered crate.

A couple years ago, I had a booth at the Rose City Classic Dog show. My friend Danielle Hall came up from California to help me with the booth. During a time when activity at the booth was slow, Danielle decided to go get a sandwich while I was talking with a couple gals from a service dog organization. During the time we talked, their wonderfully behaved seasoned golden retriever service dog just laid next to them observing what was going on around him. We were having a really nice chat about how fitness can help service dogs when Danielle returned with her sandwich.

As I was finishing my conversation, Danielle sat down and started to take a bite.

And then…..

All of a sudden, I see this flash of fur LAUNCH past me. I turned to see that this seasoned service dog had Danielle’s hand AND her sandwich in his mouth and he was not going to let go. The owners of this dog were HORRIFIED. Danielle didn’t want to let go because her sandwich was wrapped with plastic and she didn’t want the dog to eat the plastic. It all happened as if it was in slow motion but between the owner, myself and Danielle we got the dog to let go. Danielle and I were cleaning up the sandwich fixing that got all over the booth and the owners and dog, slipped away

Sometimes we forget that a dog is not a robot and that dogs have off days or lapses in behavior memory. Or Maybe they are just hungry and that sandwich was just too good to pass up.]]>Sun, 04 Mar 2018 21:03:18 GMThttp://www.pawsitive-performance.com/blog/communication-skills

Recently I was setting up for a workshop and needed to put my drink in the refrigerator but there was a gate in my way and my brain was already on to the next task. There was someone on the other side of the gate, so I simply held my drink out in an effort to communicate that I wanted her to put in the fridge. Well, because I didn’t actually tell her what I wanted, she opened the can and handed it back to me. (she “guessed” what I wanted because I didn’t communicate) I then said “OH! I just needed it put in the fridge” and we got a good laugh out of it, but it really brings me to my point, communication is a KEY component to any interaction that we have with a human or a dog.

As I grow and learn as a dog trainer, I have been thinking a lot about communication or what information are we providing to our dog for the task we are trying to complete. There are many ways we can communicate with our dogs – verbal, hand signal, body language etc.

When we start each training session we need to consider a few things:

How can I set my dog up for success?

Does he have any cued behaviors that will give him important information about the task we are about to do?

Do I need to stop and assess whether or not a foundation behavior needs shaped and put on cue before tackling my originally planned behavior

The number one communication issue I see is that dogs are not being given a “cue” that indicates what we want. Often performance handlers do not put all trained behaviors on cue or they only put their performance related behaviors on cue leaving other behaviors in a “not fully trained” or “grey” area for the dog.

If we create “grey” area in our training, it can cause frustration and is aversive to your dog. It doesn’t mean that your dog won’t keep trying as they are likely to get a reward but as the communication breaks down, it makes the training process less efficient and causes a lot of confusion. In the absence of communication, these dogs are guessing what we want and guessing during training has consequences. Confusion causes stress, displacement and lack of focus in our dogs.

Time and time again, I hear from people that they “don’t have time for fitness” and I am going to go out on a limb and say that part of the “time factor” has to do with poor communication between dog and handlers due to lack of fully trained and cued behaviors. For instance, when asking a dog to stand on 2 pieces of equipment, the behaviors needed might be:

Front foot targeting which mean “put your front feet on that”. (although many dogs will put front feet on anything you toss on the floor).

Rear foot targeting = “put your rear feet on that”. (many use back up but back is a 4 footed behavior not a 2 footed behavior so often it takes many tries to get the desired position)

Stillness - how do you get a high drive dog to offer stillness? Putting a nose touch, nose touch hold or chin rest on cue is the best way to get stillness. This gives your dog a job and makes it so they are not focused on your hands and your movement.

​Set your dog up for success by putting behaviors on cue and leave the “guessing game” behind.Of course, I have come up with a solution. Train some target behaviors and put them on cue to help improve communication with your dog. Monday March 5th, 2018, I will launch my new online classroom website Bobbie Lyons Canine Campus. I will be offering the following TARGET TRAINING classes.

In addition, my Warm/Cool/Flex class will be offered to help you design a proper warm up, cool down and flexibility routine for your performance dog. This helps to prepare your dog’s muscles for activity and to reduce the chance of injury while also cooling down and keeping your dog flexible.

All three classes are enrolling March 5th – 10th. Classes will be open for video submission, review, comments and discussion for 90 days after class begins. (plenty of time if you would like to enroll in more than one class) You will have access to all class materials and discussion for 1 yr. Check out the links above for more information.

Rebel Soul Timeless Applause = "Bravo" is now 14 weeks old. He has lived at my house now for 7 weeks. I was in California for 2 of those weeks and gone for 2 long weekends sharing K9 Fitness with the masses. Yikes. I had this overwhelming feeling of being behind in the training processes until I started looking at what we have accomplished.

Mr Bravo has been working on LIFE skills. During the times when I am at home we have done the following:

sleeping through the night (9pm-7am) and generally being quiet for naps in my crate at home and at the studio

nail trimmings - Bravo is not a fan but we are working through it.

baths and being brushed - not a fan

meet people on leash in lots of different places

learned how to go down stairs without falling down the stairs

learned to potty on potty pads when at the studio and when daddy's working

learning how to go potty outside and ring a bell that makes the door open - he is now ringing the bell regularly when he needs to go outside.

walks on leash with his brother Jack and sister Kaos - wearing a harness and a collar

being part of the Lyons Pack - Drama is still not sold on Bravo nor is Kaos but his buddies are Jack and Riley. Bravo gives Drama some room when in the house but runs after him right along side Jack in all the chase games. When outside playing, Drama and Kaos are pretty OK with him. I keep Kaos and Drama separated when in the house. Koas has shown that she can be unpredictably crabby toward any of the dogs.

Daddy taught/reinforced a few things:

to shake each front paw - w/ hand signal

get in crate before meals

to "sit"

I have been busy shaping. I have trained the following on cue using a combination of C/Treat and C/Play. He is one smart pup and is doing well learning specific behaviors one at a time mixed in with life skills. (ahhhh the training spark - love seeing that moment when a puppy understands how to earn reinforcement):

"down" = lay down

"touch" = nose touch

"paw" and "foot" verbal cues for his shake each front paw behavior

"toes" = front foot target

"hop it up" = put all four feet in or on an object

"come" = come to me

"take" = take tug from my hand

"out" = toy to my hand

Behaviors that came naturally - no training involved.

he loves to tug - we play tug with anything that is handy and we play after every training session

retrieves any object

loves to play in any way

I may have forgotten a couple things but I guess we aren't doing too bad. I believe that puppies should be allowed to be puppies. Life skills, fun skills and foundation performance skills (on the flat) are great things to teach a young pup but don't forget to play. Puppies need to have fun, they need to play and they need general life skills to become good doggy citizens.

I am starting Bravo off a bit different in hopes of improving communication from the start. Stay tuned for more training and fun with myself, Bravo and Drama as we all become a better team

Recently I have seen several social media comments that balance products and canine fitness training indoors is a fad. Of course, I disagree and wanted to share my thoughts on this subject.

Physical activity is the cornerstone for keeping muscles and joints functioning and all systems working together for both human and canine athletes. Some say it is more useful to take their dog hiking or swimming but the majority of people don’t have access to large open spaces where their dog encounters different surfaces, elevation and footing challenges. Even if they did this is typically not a balanced cross training fitness program. Not everyone lives in the same climate and when it is too hot or too cold to be outside, having other means to mentally and physically challenge your dog is key to having a happy healthy dog. This is where balance products and indoor DogTreadmills are useful tools and help canine fitness be more attainable.

Balance products, like those made by FitPAWS, are “tools” that can be used in a variety of different ways and with the guidance of a knowledgeable fitness trainer, you can learn how to properly use the equipment to benefit your dog.

Most folks fall into two categories – they overdo it or they underdo it. In an effort to understand the exercise and train their dog to do it, handlers often ask for too much repetition. In addition, once trained to do the exercise they are not completing enough reps and sets to challenge their dog’s muscles to improve strength, coordination and limb awareness. Often “fitness” training is thought of as “trick training” and once trained, the handler stops asking their dog to do the exercise. If you look at fitness as a trick then you are more likely to overwork your dog due to the repetition involved in training. This is such a shame because the training part is mental exercise and should be done in frequent short sessions. Once the dog understands the movement desired, that is when it becomes an exercise and you add reps and sets to gain muscle activation, improve strength and balance in your dog.

I can’t speak for others who teach canine fitness but my students benefit from instruction on how to challenge their dogs in all planes of motion while activating targeted muscles. Balance props aid in the ability to create a well-balanced fitness program in a controlled environment.

Working as a team, the handler and I work together to accomplish the goals below:

How to teach and put new behaviors on cue

How to train safely

How to inspire the dog to offer specific movements or static positions

How to choose equipment that best suits the dog and each exercise

How to analyze their dog’s movement and posture

How to see and understand signs of fatigue

How to improve the efficiency of training sessions

Before FitPAWS existed, my students would search the web for equipment and end up with a mishmash of equipment that was different than what I had – not the same size or level of stability. When this happens, the dog responds differently to the planned exercise due to the changes in stability and may not be activating the intended muscle groups. Having products from the same manufacturer creates a more predictable level of consistency with each exercise.

I have been teaching strength and body awareness for a long time and I get testimonials from students weekly about how their dogs performance has improved. That performance may be that their dog is able to hold a sit in obedience, jump further in dock diving, improved their times in agility, has better jump timing and form, or is simply striding better for conformation.

The goal for a balanced program is to choose specific exercises, move your dogs in all planes of motion, complete reps and sets and watch for signs of fatigue. If you don’t have the knowledge to design a balanced fitness program for your dog, seek advice from a Certified Canine Fitness Trainer or Rehabilitation Specialist who understands how to design a fitness program for your dog and the activities that you are involved in.

The tools that we use to complete a canine fitness program will vary depending on the dog’s needs and conditioning goals. Fitness training and the tools that we use to mentally and physically challenge our dogs should never be considered a fad but it should be considered an integral part of your dog’s fitness training program.

]]>Tue, 17 Oct 2017 07:00:00 GMThttp://www.pawsitive-performance.com/blog/learning-never-endsOver the past few months my brain has been absorbing all kinds of information. I believe that continuing education is so very important in dog training, canine fitness and well in LIFE. For me, I go through stages where my brain is full and I couldn't possibly put more into it and then all of a sudden it is time to open up the doors for learning again.

Here is what I have been up to:

Six months ago I started the Professional Trainer Program through the Karen Pryor Academy. I am happy to say I have completed this program and obtained my KPA-CTP certification. Why this program for dog training?? I am a self taught clicker trainer and I knew there were pieces of the clicker puzzle that I was missing. I wanted to become a better trainer and improve the services that I provide to my clients. Clicker/Shape training is a method I believe in very strongly and I now have more tools in the tool box to communicate better with my own dogs and help my clients improve training with their dogs.

I became a CGC evaluator so that I could offer classes that focus on AKC trick training titles. Many folks want to train fun tricks with their dog and sometimes the dog struggles due to a lack of strength. Often folks believe it is non compliance or lack of understanding but actually it may be related to strength. I will be offering classes that help folks design a training plan for each trick they need for titling and of course I can provide the test for titling. Drama has his Champion Trick Dog Title (TDCH) from DMWYD and has his Trick Dog Performer (TKP) from AKC.

I took a two day "Worked up" workshop from Sarah Stremming - I have already implemented many things that Sarah taught in my work with Drama and during my workshops. Sarah has clear instruction on managing arousal levels and understanding if your dog is ready to work. Thank you Sarah!!

I helped organize and attended a three day Law Enforcement training on proper tug engagement and decoy work - For me, the information on tugging was amazing. The Driven Dog - Karin Chan and David Wright really understand working dogs and how to build them up. If a dog is to be expected to kick someone's ass and save your life, then the dog needs to understand that they are capable of kicking someone's ass. WOW!! What a concept. Big eye opener for this law enforcement group. The decoy work was also amazing to watch - not sure I would want to put on that suit but I have much respect for those that did. I was exhausted after these three full 9+ hour days just watching!

Of course all this was done while running my business in Portland, teaching online and traveling to NC, PA, WA, FL 2x, CO, Germany, and TN - It sure wasn't easy but I did it. The feeling of accomplishment is somewhat overwhelming.There are always natural learning opportunities but sometimes you have to seek them out and schedule them into your life. If may not be easy but it IS totally worth it.

Consequently - Drama and I have trained a lot. The training assignments required through KPA are quite extensive. I had to be very careful to keep Drama's arousal and environmental sensitivity at a managed level. Not that I didn't do that before but with the number of training exercises in short periods of time that were required, it was important to be very careful about how much pressure I felt and applied to him.

I am proud of what we have accomplished together. We are a team and our communication and training will just keep getting better and better as we grow and learn together.